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WINNIPEG – The Rural Municipality of Victoria Beach has declared a state of emergency after waves and high water brought dikes at Albert Beach within an inch of breaching, the reeve said Wednesday morning.

Council declared the state of emergency at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on the advice of their emergency measures co-ordinator, Farrell said.

The near-breach of the dikes came Sunday night at Albert Beach, just southeast of the community of Victoria Beach on a peninsula jutting into the south basin of Lake Winnipeg.

There’s “real concern” about securing property against high water and winds, Farrell said.

The declaration allows workers to go onto private land to build and maintain dikes, he said.

“We need to be able to look after dikes and protect homes and cottages.”

Victoria Beach is on a peninsula almost entirely surrounded by Lake Winnipeg about 100 kilometres north of Winnipeg. It has only 400 permanent residents but thousands of cottagers spend the summer months in the area.